Illuminated house number



INVENTQ.

'ff-LW ATTORNEY P. J. CHAPETTO ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER Filed Nov. 7, 1928 Dec. 17, 1929.

Patented Dec. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE lPflil'LER JOSEPH GHIAPETTO, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER Application led November 7, 1928. Serial 17o. 817,715.

being readily detachable from the illuminating members of the device, said illuminating members being so designed as to be adapte to employ an elongated tubular lighting element, such as a neon light, substantially surrounding the circumference of the plate upon 16 which the numerals are indicated, and reiecting light rays thereon, thereby indlrectly 1lluminating the same.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a box, closed at one end, in which A tracks are provided, adjacent to the rear wall of the box, into which guide plates marked with the desired indicia may be readily inserted, the front wall of the box being apertured so that the indicia representing the house number appears therethru, a neon tube being provided around the aperture in the front wall of the box for illuminating the interior of the box and the house number therein, and an auxiliary light being provided in a socket on the front'wall of the box for illuminating the sign when the neon light is out of order.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a device of the character described, that will be superior in point vof simplicity, inexpensiveness of construction, positiveness of operation, facility and convenience in use, and general efficiency.

In this specification and the annexed drawing, the invention is illustrated in they form considered to be the best, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such. form because it may be embodied in other forms, and it is also to be understood that in and by the claims following the description, it is desired to cover the invention inrwhatsoever form it may be embodied.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in' which- E Figure 1 is a front view of the illuminated house number and the box, part of the front wall of the box being broken away;

Figure 2 is a section taken thru the line 2-2 of Figure 1; E

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the 55 platesupon which a number is impressed or imprinted; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the auxiliary flight on the box the section being taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts thruout, the various figures described above adequately illustrate myinvention,`and the followin detailed descrip-v B5 tion is commensurate wit the above mentioned drawings in enabling an artisan to construct and assemble the constituent parts of the same.

' In carrying out my invention, I make use 70 of a housing, denoted in its entirety -by the numeralA 6, which housing has a front wall 7, a rear wall 8, and a bottom 9, and a top 10 connecting the longitudinal edges of the front wall 7 and the rear wall -8, and form-l 75 ing. an enclosure therein. One end of the enclosure is closed by an end wall 12, while the other end of the enclosure is open and is adapted to be covered by a detachable cover 18, the flanges of which substantially overlap 8o the top and the bottom and thesides of the housing. In the front wall, a substantially rectangular opening 14 is provided, the opening being of such a size as to leave a rim around the circumference of the opening.

`In order to indicate the house number, I employ a plurality of plates 16 upon which is imprinted or impressed a numeral denoted by 17. It is preferable that each plate carry only one numeral so as to allow a plurality of combinations of numbers to be formed thereby within the housing as required. The backgroundor the surface of the plate is preferably painted in a color conspicuously distinguishing from the color in which the nu- '95 merals or the characters are painted, thereby rendering the numerals readily observable from a distance. In order to hold the plates 16' in place and to allow the endwise lnsertion thereof, the box is so formed and the usually grooves lbottom 9 and the top 19 are so bent adjacentv K- are selected `and in the required order are endwisel inserted in thegrooves 18 side by side, an slidltoward the other end of -the box, abutting one against ,the other. In order to center the location of the numerals in the box, spacing plates 19 are employed. One 4spacing plate 1s inserted before any of the numeral plates are inserted so as to s ace the last number from the en d wall 12, thus the nunbers appear at the edge of the opening. in the proper position. The other spacing plate 19 is inserted between the rs't p ate of the house number and the detachable cover 13, thereby allowing the detachable cover to exert a certain pressure upon the plates in the grooves 18, so as to hold the same against rattling or accidental displacement.

The house numbers at the rear-Wall of the box are indirectly illuminated by means of a neon-tube 21.which extends around the whole circumference of the front wall and which is supported in place. around the rim of the opening 14 by means of brackets 22 secured to the inside face of the front wall .7. The neon light is of the usual structure and is bent into substantially rectangular shape and is connected by means of wires 23 to a switch connectingvthe device to a source of electricity. l y

. The box supported in place by means of ears 24 having apertures thereinthru which the `usual securing means, such as bolts or nails, can be securedinto the wall.

In order t`o prepare for any emergency, if the neon light is for some reason or other. out of order, IY provide an auxiliary light at the lower edge of the front wall-7. About midwa between the ends of the lower edge l of the ront wall '7 is formed a semi-spherical reflector 25 inwhich is a socket 26, and into which socket, in turn, isthreaded the. usual v small electric bulb 27. The reflector 25 protrudes sli htly in front of the p lane of the front wa 7 and reflects tlie lig t upon the plate 16 and numerals 17. It is preferable that the socket 26 be connected to a difier- -ent switch than the neon light 23 so as to rovide the illumination of the house numrs at all times. It will be recognizedthat the assembly ofV the housin and the insertion thereinto of the intere angeable number' plates 16 is readily accomplished after the removal of the detachable end cover -13 and by the use of suitable spacing plates 19, the numerals are properly positioned so as to appear thru the front o ening 14. The plates 16 are securely hel in the grooves-18 and prevented from rattling and accidental removal by the end cover 13. The neon light 14 is disposed in curved reflectors circumferential tothe front wall and formed .at thejunctures of the front wall with the top, bottom andthe end walls so that the light will be readily reflected from all corners upon the plates 16 and the numerals 17, thereby rendering the house numbers conspicuously illuminated in an indirect manner.

The numerals may be readily changed by the average layman without necessitating the. removal of any part of the housing other than the end cover 13. After the numerals are inserted in place in the housing, theV illuminable 'house number may be readily secured in place by anyvlayman.

I claim 1. In a device of the character described, a

housinV having a front wall, a rear wall, a top an bottom, and an end wall -at one end thereof, y.the other end thereof being o en;

ytracks formed at the opposite longitu inal edges of the rear wall by the bent edges of the top and bottom; an indicia bearing plate adapted to be inserted endwise thru said open end -into said tracks and being held in place-thereby; said front wall having an opening therein opposite said plate; and a bent illuminating tube supported in V said yhousing around the said opening.

2. In a device of the character described, a

housing having a front wall, a rear wall, a top and bottom, and an end wall at one end thereof, the other end thereof bein o en;

tracks formed .at the opposite longitu inal edges of the rear wall by the bent edges of the top and bottom; an indicia bearing plate adapted to be inserted endwise thru said o en end into said tracks and being held in 'p ace thereby; said front wall having an opening therein opposite said plate; a bent illuminating tube supported in said housing around .the said opening; and an auxiliary light secured to the lfront wall, adapted to reflect light upon the plate. h

3. In a device of the character described, a housing having afront wall, a rear wall, a top and bottom, and. an end wall at one end thereof, the other end thereof beingopen;

tracks formed at the opposite longitudinal edges of the rear wall by the bent edges of the top and bottom; a plurality of interchangeable indicium bearing plates adapted to be inserted endwise thru said open end'into said tracks and being held in place thereby;

said front wallhaving an opening therein epposite said plate; and a bent illuminating tube support-ed in said housing around the said opening.

4. In a device of the character described, a.

housin havin a front wall a rear wall, aA

top an bottom, and an end wall at one end thereof, thev other end thereof being open' tracks formed at the opposite 'longitudina edges of the rear Wall by the bent edges of the top and bottom; a plurality of interchangeable indcium bearing plates adapted to be inserted endwise thru said open end into said tracks and being held in place thereby; said front Wall havin an opening therein opposite said plate; a ent illuminating tube supported in said housing around the said opening; spacing plates insertable in said tracks' a cover on the open end of the housing; an means on the rear wall of the housing for securing the housing in place.

5. In a device of the character described, a housing having a front wall, a rear Wall, a top and bottom, and an end Wall at one end thereof, the other end thereof bein open; tracks formed at the opposite longitudinal edges' of the rear wall by the bent edges of the top and bottom; an indicia bearing plate adapted to be inserted endwise thru saido en end into said tracks and being held in p ace thereby; said front Wall having anA opening therein opposite saidplate; and a bent illuminating tube supported in said housing around the said opening; the edges of the front Wall being curved so as to reect the light rays from said. tube upon said plate.

In testimony whereof I aix my si ature.

. PETER JOSEPH CHIAP TTO. 

